I was driving to school this morning, minding my own business and snickering quietly because I noticed my little sister cutely fast asleep in the passenger's seat. Ninety-nine point nine percent of my concentration was on the road, while point one percent was wondering around what I will be doing in school for the six-and-a-half hours I will be spending in the library.
I was looking forward to grab a snooze for a few minutes (or maybe a few hours) in the social hall or in the library when five minutes away from my home away from home, I noticed a familiar face in the jeepney right in front of me. Suddenly, I was fighting hard to keep my concentration on driving and not on the face of a friend I used to spend most of my days with for almost a whole school year. I wanted to let my car stay still, but the jeep was taking so long to move.
So I did the logical thing a driver would do: I went past the jeep. It was still idling at the corner to let a passenger down, but I kept looking through my rear view mirror, wishing that the jeep would drive by me so I could get a glimpse of that face again.
My heart was beating really fast, and hundreds of questions were running through my head. "Did he see me?" "What's happening?" "Why is my heartbeat like this?" "What does it mean?" "If he did see me, which I doubt, would he feel this way too?" I wanted with all my might to just stop the car, wait for the jeep drive by me, and follow it. But again, I did the logical thing: continue driving.
I took a left in the next corner and noticed that the jeep stopped once more to let another passenger down - him. The jeep then drove by me while I was parking my car, and I couldn't help but look at the spot where he was moments ago, wishing he was still there.
I haven't seen him for nineteen months, and I regret that I let every chance of seeing him pass. I thought I forgot about him, but why is it that after a three-second glimpse of his face, everything's back to how they were nineteen months ago? It just makes things complicated once again.
Showing posts with label College Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College Life. Show all posts
Jeepney
Lots of Love,
J<3
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Valentine's Day for Singles
Together with the whole world, I was also affected by the Valentine craze. It started on the Sunday of the week of Valentine's Day when I started making cookie dough. I made two batches of cut-out cookies in heart, teddy bear and butterfly shapes. It was a hectic week in school so I decided to split the jobs of making the dough, baking and icing the cookies into four days (the last bit of icing was done on the night of the 14th - I gave the cookies the next day to my high school BFFs).
If Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that the 14th may be viewed by people in three ways - Vday for people in a relationship, Single Awareness Day for those who are single, and for people who couldn't care less, it's just Thursday - I decided to add one more option: Make as many People Smile Day.
Being single, it may be expected that I spend the day sulking and asking my self why is it that I'm spending the day for couples without a partner AGAIN! But I think this isn't proper. Instead of having a boyfriend as my valentine, I decided to have lots of people as valentines.
I started with my college friends. I packaged a teddy bear cookie and a butterfly cookie in cute little packets and gave each person a bag. I was supposed to give some of my other friends cookies, but we didn't have a chance to meet up. So I got into the car with three bags remaining. One was for the old lady who sells sapmaguita leis we always pass by the bridge on the way home, the others were just extra. But when my sister and I made a detour to buy a cake for my mom (it was her birthday), we passed by a lady by the street selling dried fish and squid. She looked really tired being under the scorching sun for who knows how long, so I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to give one of the extra cookies to her. When we got to the mall, I gave the last cookie to the elevator lady who my family already consider as a friend. The cute drawings on the cookies made my friends and both strangers smile like little kids who woke up on Christmas Day with gifts from Santa in their stockings, and this was more than enough to make nights of mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting and icing worthwhile
The next day, I went on a date with my high school friends and gave them the remaining cookies I had at home. We only get to see each other every few months since we entered college, so we treasure moment we get to spend with each other. I spent my post-Valentine date with three people who are very close to my heart, which I think is what's important. We talked, laughed and ate like it was the end of the world. When I got home, I too slept with a smile on my face. This, I think, is the best way to end my Valentine Day experience.
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| Valentine Cookies |
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| Valentine Cookies |
Lots of Love,
J<3
Memories
Hey again! In case you're wondering why my posts are less than two hours apart, it's 'cause I've been in school since 7am (even if I knew my class doesn't start 'til 9am). Then suddenly, I found out that same class was moved to 10:30 am. And just now, that same class still, is cancelled (that may seem fun but it's not if you've been in school for almost four hours and it's been happening for four weeks now). Just to make things worse, my friends all decided to do something else before our 1:30 class (two went home, one won't be coming to that 1:30 class and is out with someone, and the other is still at home). So I guess off to the library for me...again.
Anyway, that's not really part of this post.
To begin things, I would like to ask you a question: "How do you really say you've stopped liking (liking /ˈlaɪ kɪŋ/ v. thinking of the person constantly; admiring the person. Synonym: crushing) someone?"
To begin things, I would like to ask you a question: "How do you really say you've stopped liking (liking /ˈlaɪ kɪŋ/ v. thinking of the person constantly; admiring the person. Synonym: crushing) someone?"
If you've read my previous post Why do girls watch drama?, you know that I haven't had a real crush before. And being an NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth), crushing is as far as it gets.
As far as I could remember, I've had probably five crushes that I could consider real. And each time, one crush ends when the other begins (or when we stop being classmates). But right now, I don't think that's the case. Or is it?
This time, it's a bit complicated (probably 'cause I'm older?). The last two people I used to like still would creep in on me sometimes (and the last time I've seen one of them is four months, the other sixteen).
I used to dream about them (sometimes separately, sometimes together - which is weird 'cause they've never met IRL). And when the dreams end, I remember them for a day or two, then they're back into the recesses of my subconscious. If you ask me if I like anyone during the normal days (normal days /ˈnɔr məl deɪz/ n. days when I don't dream of them or haven't dream't of them recently), I'll say nobody. If I see a post about liking somebody, no one pops into my mind.
It's like during normal circumstances, they're just part of my past, but when something triggers a memory, pictures of them just floods my mind. Like this morning, my uniform's collar was all messed up. As I was fixing it, I remember the time when one of them fixed my messy collar out of the blue. And the other day, when I was watching something on TV and the lead actors did something similar from what me and the other dude used too do, I would remember him as well.
The weirdest part: if you examine everything, it would seem that I still like the both of them at the same time. So what's happening to me?
I don't really know if my answer's correct, but I think I don't like them both anymore (or if I ever loved them, I don't love them that way anymore). It's just that I love the memories we had. They were good times and fun times. And maybe I just can't let go of them just yet. I remember my friend once told me that sometimes you really don't like the person anymore. It's the memories you had that you hold onto and not him. It's just that you got so used to telling everyone (including yourself) that he's the guy you like, that now that the feelings are gone, you get confused. I guess I'll find out in time (or maybe when I start liking someone else :P).
Lots of Love,
J<3
Reflection Paper on “Uses of Social Media and How to Use it Responsibly”
*This is a reflection paper I wrote for school about a talk/seminar I attended.*
Social media being one click away, it is important
that not only do we know how to use it, but also how to use it responsibly. Memories
of videos and pictures like the “Amalayer” girl, Tito Sotto’s alleged
plagiarism of a speech, this UP student, whose name I don’t recall (Chris Lau I
think?), who had an unfortunate incident during the recent habagat that was caught on video, and a lot more flooded my mind
during the interview with Atty. Terry Ridon about cyber bullying, cybercrime
and a lot of other words coined to capture the meaning of situations that
emerged in the twenty-first century mostly because of the abundance of
technology. But with all these words we hear and know, do we really know what
they mean? What is the difference between cyber bullying and cybercrime? And
why the sudden need for a cybercrime law?
Atty.
Terry Ridon clarified that cyber bullying is a form of cybercrime. Cybercrime
is a collective term for other acts done on the internet that may cause harm
towards other people. On the other hand, cyber bullying is a type of harm (i.e.
bullying) done towards other people with the use of the internet and the
various forms of social media. What is hard about cybercrime and cyber bullying
(for the victims mostly) is the anonymity of the person committing the “crime”.
That is why it is easier nowadays for people to get bullied because it can be
done without personal confrontation. Unlike before, when bullies and their
victims would usually have a personal relationship with each other or at least
know each other and have spent time with each other, in cyber bullying, even
people you don’t know from all over the world can bully you, and there’s no
stopping them. Even if the bullying stops, years after and after much
investigation, you can still find all these information in the immortal storage
called the World Wide Web. So even your children or your children’s children
and anyone after them would still be able to see your embarrassing pictures of
that one night that went wrong with just a few clicks.
The
last part of the talk was spent mostly by girls gushing over Ramon Bautista,
laughing at him and his funny antics caught on cam, but it wasn’t all that. He
may have made a few jokes too many and undeniably proclaimed to everyone how
good looking he is (with almost all the girls agreeing to him, which I don’t
understand), he did impart on us a valuable lesson or two about using social
media responsibly.
Being
a Youtube star himself, Ramon had his fair share of “cyber praise” and cyber
bullying of his own. But unlike the people who made use of their power to
spread unlikely videos and photos of unlucky people and embarrassing them all
over the world, Ramon Bautista did the opposite: he made videos that may have
gone viral, but have taught a lesson or two while giving joy and laughter to
the people who watched them.
Like
what they say, with great power comes
great responsibility. And with all the power granted to us by our fairy
godmother Internet, we also have a World Wide Web’s worth of responsibility in
our hands hand.
Lots of Love,
J<3
Gokongwei Snake Twin
“Be
careful when you shop or the snake twin might eat you.” This was the warning I
heard from one of my dad’s elderly friends who have been fondly telling her
tale to me, my sister and my mom in the last half hour.
The urban legend goes about Robina Gokongwei having a snake twin named Robinson (hence the mall's name). He was said to live under the malls and stalk girls who enter the department stores and follow the ones he likes. If the victim enters the fitting room, she is taken through a trapped door and is gone forever. (For more details, click here.) This was recently discussed in my Literature class and we were asked to write this Reader Response Criticism (which is what most of this post was taken from). Aside from what was discussed in class and the link included, the old lady also mentioned about the snake twin throwing
up gold, which, she says, is the reason for the Gokongwei family's wealth.
When I first heard the legend, it didn’t occur to me that
it was true. I just laughed to myself and said, “I don’t even go to Robinson’s,
so why bother?” But when I heard it for the second time in class, I got to
thinking, “Why is this urban legend present?” At first I thought it was just
because of Filipino’s fondness in supernatural beings. But could there be a
deeper meaning to it?
It then occurred to me that it could be just a silly rumor
created by one of their competitors. Being a teenager, I have had my share of
rumors and teasing especially in high school and grade school. And hearing these things about you is
sometimes, if not always, hurtful, especially if none of it was true. I remember
being teased by my classmates and crying because of how much I hated the
feeling of being humiliated. It was unexplainable; all I knew was that it hurt. This may be far from
the Gokongwei’s case because it wouldn’t just hurt the people behind them
emotionally, it would also affect their company,
including the littlest employees.
But seeing how the Gokongweis still belonging to one of
the richest families in the Philippines shows how well they have handled this
urban legend. It made me realize that no matter how big or small an issue is,
the way we handle it is what defines our situation. And I think this can be
applied to what we experience, and will still experience, as teenagers. Inch-by-inch we are being exposed
to the “real” world and we should be equipped with the right tools when we
finally enter this strange world in a couple of years. In the future, if we become successful in
our own chosen fields, people may try to bring us down. We should be able to handle things and
not get affected about them.
Urban legends may seem fun to tell or listen to, but sometimes
they may end up hurting others, one way or another. So as I listen to another of
these stories next time and decide to share them to others, I would try to
think twice about its consequences.
J<3
Girls and Their/Our "Need" to Talk
Growing up in a family where girls outnumber boys, I've been used to all the drama that comes with it. Being a girl myself makes me a contributor to this drama a lot of times. And I have to agree that this drama would a lot of times root from every girl's "need" to talk and speak up their mind.
Being women, we are more emotional than our male counterparts who would usually bottle up their emotions and keep it to themselves. We would usually want our voices and opinions to be heard, which gives us a reputation of being talkative. But why is it that girls seem to want to talk all the time?
In a crowd of buzzing bees, I have to say that I am the exception to the rule. I do have my own way of expressing myself, and I admit that there would be times when I would be loud. But I'm the kind of girl who could sit still and listen to the professor and just shut up.
I've been around lots of girls all my life. In high school, the boys were outnumbered by more than double their number. And majority of my closest friends are girls. But having recently transferred to an all-girls school gave me a different experience.
In my school, it is very rare to see a true male being in the campus. (And yes, I did make it a point to emphasize the word true for not all of them are 100% boys.) There are the professors, the staff and other personnel, and a very tiny number of male students. In my classes, I've only experienced having a guy classmate twice (one for each instance), and that's because I'm an irregular student.
You see, students are usually grouped by blocks for their whole stay. And they will belong to this block until they graduate except for special cases. The only courses with male students are Fine Arts and Music. And if you do not belong to that course, then there's about a 99% chance of you not having a guy classmate.
But hey, enough with the "guy talk". I'm here to talk about girls talking, right? So, a couple of days ago, I was sitting in computer class and watching the movie "The Net". About thirty-three other girls are doing the same thing with me in the room. And in the middle of one of the suspense scenes, everyone were screaming and making scared, loud noises. I got to thinking that this might be worse if a movie house was filled with girls watching a suspense, a thriller, or even worse, horror, and they would be aloud to make any noise they want. I laughed silently in my head, amused by what was happening.
A similar thing happened earlier today during a gathering in school. About six hundred or so second and third year students were gathered in a hall for our re-orientation. In the six hundred or so, about 95% is female. During the eight-hour event, not one moment was there complete silence. And more than half the time, there was very noisy that I felt sorry for the speakers in front.
I may be a girl, but I just don't get it why they all have to talk. I would only be seeing a few girls like me listening intently, and some of them aren't talking 'cause they don't know who they're seated with. Whatever it is, I haven't got the answer. But it has been proven in the past how complicated girls are that even girls have a hard time deciphering themselves.
Lots of Love,
J<3
I am a KULASALLIAN Forever!
Today is the anniversary of the end of my Lasallian dream and the beginning of my Kulasa journey. Exactly a year ago, my ID made its last bleep in "Wally's North Gate". It has been a year since I started walking the halls of SSC as their student and not as a girl-accompanying-her-sister-to-enrollment.
Wally, Leira, Daniel and to all the DLSU people who has been a part of my first year in college, I know it has been a year since I 'left' you, but don't worry, I'm in the hands of people who love me as much as you do. In a year or so, you guys are gonna start graduating, but here I am, barely at the end of my CPA dream. Thanks a lot for being my first group of college friends. I hope our friendship could stand the test of time (and distance).
Dona, Mimi, Irene, Pat, Jenny and Sera, you girls have been my shipmates in my first term as a Kulasa. You made transferring to a new school a lot easier because we got to experience the troubles of being irregs together. I hope we can be classmates once again. But if destiny forbid, I hope we don't forget each other even as we go on and meet new friends (and lots of them, if you know what I mean).
Margo, Kath, Sab, and the rest of BSAcT1a, thanks for welcoming me wholeheartedly to your block and calling me your ate even if we are of the same age. :)) It has been a pleasure being a part of your block somehow. Let us all go through this journey together and show the world that we too can become accountants.
I love you guys! >:D< Sorry for the drama, but I want you to know that I mean every single word I said (or wrote HAHAHA).
Lots of Love,
J<3
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